The U.S. now has the most confirmed coronavirus deaths in the world

The United States on Saturday overtook Italy as the country with the most deaths resulting from the novel COVID-19 coronavirus.

Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University shows that there have been at least 18,860 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the United States, whereas Italy has reported 18,849.

Experts believe the U.S. total is likely higher than what's been reported for various reasons, however. Either way, it was likely only a matter of time before the U.S. fatality numbers eclipsed those in the much less populous Italy. The case fatality rate in Italy remains higher than the U.S., which has more than three times the number of total confirmed cases.

There's some cause for optimism in both countries — the increase in new confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths in Italy has slowed in recent weeks, while the U.S. is believed to be near its peak. That's because government-ordered lockdowns and social distancing among the citizenries have proven effective, but even though the exponential growth has dwindled, the raw numbers are still staggering.